Pakistan was answerable at UN for issuing identity card to Mullah Mansour: Nisar

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that the issuance of an identity card to former Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour had caused immense disrepute across the world and they were held answerable at the United Nations.

He was addressing a press conference where he said that it was necessary to carry the national verification of identity cards for sake of national security.

He highlighted the efforts which are been taken to make the NADRA an efficient institution, as people were still suffering inconvenience at NADRA centres and strict action will be taken against such officials. He said that weekly sessions are held to oversee the situation and the improvements made at service centres.

Nisar said that three new large centres will be established in Karachi over the next year, while centres will also be established in Lahore, Gujranwala, Quetta and Peshawar. He also said that efforts are been made for the introduction of the e-passport.

He also stated that those who had issued National Identity Cards (NICs) to foreigners were traitors and will not be spared. He revealed that eighteen employees of NADRA had issued several identity cards and there was the presence of a strong network involved in such activities, who have been arrested and will be given an exemplary punishment.

He commended that the helpline established had immensely helped in this verification drive. He said that the salaries of honest and efficient employees will be increased, while those who are insincere will be dismissed as they have no place in the institution.

Nisar revealed that more than fifty thousand identity cards had been blocked in the last two months, while 2100 people had voluntarily returned their falsified identity cards. He accepted that if the identity cards of legitimate citizens had been blocked then efforts should be made to rectify it.

While answering a question, he said that India has no proof over involvement of attacks on military base in Uri in India-Occupied Kashmir. He said that India has resorted to massive censorship so it could not be exposed over the attack, and the accusations against Pakistan were mere propaganda.

He also said that efforts are being made to extradite Baloch separatist leader Brahamdagh Bugti through Interpol, and a reference will be sent soon. He said that the offer to grant asylum to Bugti proves that India is responsible for terrorism in Balochistan, and now the nefarious activities of Narendra Modi have been exposed in front of the world.